Little Neck school community donates their hair to cancer patients

A group of givers from a Little Neck school spent a Monday afternoon getting their hair cut for a good cause.

Organized by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, 21 students, teachers and parents from Yeshiva Har Torah gathered at The Fun Salon in West Hempstead on May 15 to donate their long locks to cancer patients.

Each participant donated at least 8 inches of hair, which will be delivered to Zichron Menachem — an Israeli organization that supports kids with cancer — and made into wigs. Donors were treated to a haircut at the salon, pizza and Slurpees, and gift bags by local businesses for their efforts.

“[I wanted to] help sick kids look normal until they are strong and healthy enough to grow their own hair and feel pretty again,” second-grade student Maya said.

Orit Lax, an art teacher at the school who donated her hair alongside her daughter Adina, said her experience was deeply personal, as her husband’s father is a cancer survivor.

“Doing this together is a bonding experience that we are glad to be repeating two years after our last donation,” Lax said.

Yeshiva Har Torah serves 675 girls and boys and incorporates giving projects, like this month’s hair donation event, into its school and extra-curricular schedule regularly. The school is also collecting money to support Zichron Menachem, which will culminate with a special school-wide celebration on Jerusalem Day.

“We are so proud of our faculty, parents, and especially our students — ranging from nursery through eighth grade — who have embraced this extraordinary act of kindness and compassion, which reflects the core of our school’s mission,” said Rabbi Gary Menchel, principal of the school.